With the Evolved Battle System coming in 8.0, I'd like to suggest changes that strengthen Summoner's identity while keeping the current responsive gameplay.
1. Let Carbuncle and the Primals perform our spells.
When the player presses Ruin, Ruin II, or Ruin III, the action should still belong to the Summoner, but the spell animation should come from Carbuncle instead. No pet hotbar, no AI pet system, and no change to gameplay—only a visual change.
The same should apply to Ruby/Topaz/Emerald Rite and Catastrophe. When Ifrit, Titan, or Garuda are summoned, they should visually perform those attacks instead of the Summoner.
Right now, Carbuncle mostly stands beside us without contributing. Having our summons visibly attack would make the job feel much more like a true Summoner.
2. This also avoids the old pet problems.
I'm not asking for the pre-Endwalker pet AI to return.
Instead, these abilities would be direct player commands that instantly play the summon's attack animation on the target. This preserves the current responsiveness while avoiding the old "ghosting" issues where pet attacks could fail if the target moved.
3. Build toward Demi-Summons using all six elements.
The current rotation feels backwards because we summon our strongest Demi first, then cycle through the elemental primals.
Instead, I think the elemental summons should build into each Demi:
Ifrit (Fire) + Titan (Earth) → Bahamut
Shiva (Ice) + Leviathan (Water) → Solar Bahamut
Garuda (Wind) + Ramuh (Lightning) → Phoenix
This gives all six elements a meaningful purpose and makes each Demi feel earned.
4. Remove outdated actions.
Physick serves little purpose on Summoner today. Personally, I'd also be willing to trade Searing Light and Resurrection for additional summons or more direct-command abilities that further reinforce the job's identity.
Overall, I'd like Summoner to feel less like a caster with summon visuals and more like a commander whose summons are actively fighting through every command the player issues.
Continue reading...
1. Let Carbuncle and the Primals perform our spells.
When the player presses Ruin, Ruin II, or Ruin III, the action should still belong to the Summoner, but the spell animation should come from Carbuncle instead. No pet hotbar, no AI pet system, and no change to gameplay—only a visual change.
The same should apply to Ruby/Topaz/Emerald Rite and Catastrophe. When Ifrit, Titan, or Garuda are summoned, they should visually perform those attacks instead of the Summoner.
Right now, Carbuncle mostly stands beside us without contributing. Having our summons visibly attack would make the job feel much more like a true Summoner.
2. This also avoids the old pet problems.
I'm not asking for the pre-Endwalker pet AI to return.
Instead, these abilities would be direct player commands that instantly play the summon's attack animation on the target. This preserves the current responsiveness while avoiding the old "ghosting" issues where pet attacks could fail if the target moved.
3. Build toward Demi-Summons using all six elements.
The current rotation feels backwards because we summon our strongest Demi first, then cycle through the elemental primals.
Instead, I think the elemental summons should build into each Demi:
Ifrit (Fire) + Titan (Earth) → Bahamut
Shiva (Ice) + Leviathan (Water) → Solar Bahamut
Garuda (Wind) + Ramuh (Lightning) → Phoenix
This gives all six elements a meaningful purpose and makes each Demi feel earned.
4. Remove outdated actions.
Physick serves little purpose on Summoner today. Personally, I'd also be willing to trade Searing Light and Resurrection for additional summons or more direct-command abilities that further reinforce the job's identity.
Overall, I'd like Summoner to feel less like a caster with summon visuals and more like a commander whose summons are actively fighting through every command the player issues.
Continue reading...